The Silfver Bullet Rookie

When he was as boy growing up in Sweden, Jakob Silfverberg didn't emulate Peter Forsberg, Daniel Alfredsson or any of the other great Swedish forwards.

By Ottawa CitizenMarch 19, 2013

When he was as boy growing up in Sweden, Jakob Silfverberg didn't emulate Peter Forsberg, Daniel Alfredsson or any of the other great Swedish forwards.

He was too busy scoring goals.

"I wasn't watching that much hockey as a kid," Sil-fverberg says, standing in front of the No. 33 dressing room stall of the Ottawa Senators. "I was more the guy that was out on the street playing instead of inside watching."

Apparently, it paid off. Of all the rookie Senators forwards to showcase their stuff during Ottawa's season of injury/opportunity, none has looked like more of a sure thing than the 22-yearold winger from Gävle, Sweden.

Silfverberg, the Swedish Elite League player of the year in 2011-12, coincidentally smashed Alfredsson's SEL playoff goal-scoring record by producing 13 in 16 games. His European credentials in place, he eased his way into the North American game by playing 34 games in the AHL with the 2012-13 Binghamton Senators, gaining precious experience during the NHL lockout.

The adjustment was difficult at first, mostly because of the shrunken ice surface as compared with the broad rinks of Europe. Eventually, though, Silfverberg adapted, hitting his stride about a month into the season. By the time the lockout ended, the compact, 6-foot-1, 200-pound winger had scored 13 times and added 16 assists in 34 games.

When the Senators' season opened on Jan. 19, Silfverberg was in the opening lineup at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

Two nights later, he scored his first goal in his second NHL game, a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers.

He was scoreless in his next six games, and then experienced a couple of other dry spells, but success in the shootout sparked his confidence. With four goals in six attempts (tied for the league lead), Silfverberg found in the shootout a chance to demonstrate his lightning-quick release, victimizing such elite goaltenders as Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Brodeur and Carey Price.

Lately, Silfverberg is finding space to unleash his deadly wrist shot in regulation time. While he has six goals in 29 games, three of them have come in his past five games, including two bullets, one the game winner in Sunday's 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. On the first goal, Silfverberg showed exceptional patience and skill, settling the puck down before ripping it high past goaltender Ondrej Pavelec.

The soft-spoken Silfver-berg is finding his mark, despite grumbling to captain Alfredsson early in the game against Winnipeg that he was making things too easy on Pavelec.

"He was complaining after the first (period) that he couldn't really hit his spots," Alfredsson said after the game. "I have a hard time believing that after seeing those two goals."

Alfredsson also hit his spot in a recent quote on Silfver-berg: "He reminds me of me." True enough, Silfverberg is Alfredsson-tough along the boards, smart and opportunistic.

Silfverberg has a simple explanation for his recent emergence. He kept getting shifts, even when the goals weren't coming early in the season.

"I feel like I learn something new every day, and I have a coach that believes in me and wants me to play good," Silfverberg says. "I get stronger and stronger on the puck every day and make better decisions, so yeah - the confidence is getting higher and higher."

Head coach Paul MacLean also has growing confidence - in Silfverberg's overall game. During the lockout, MacLean watched Silf-verberg play in Binghamton, and noted how it took 15 to 20 games for him to adjust.

The solid, two-way winger appears to have similarly adapted to the next level.

"It was a matter of time for him to get comfortable," MacLean says. "He wasn't a liability on the ice, he's very good defensively without the puck, so it's easy as the coach to keep putting him on the ice and give him the opportunity to grow his game."

MacLean has no worries using Silfverberg in all situations, as he does Alfredsson and Milan Michalek (still out with a knee injury). The ice - and the ice time - are opening up for No. 33. In his past two games, Silfverberg has had 10 shots on goal, earning nearly 20 minutes of playing time versus the Jets.

Lately, Silfverberg and Kyle Turris (the NHL's second star of the week - a symbol of the club's offensive turnaround) have been the lead trigger men on a power play that produced two goals in Montreal March 13, the game winner in Buffalo Saturday and two more on Sunday.

"We'd been struggling a bit but now we're kind of finding our spots," Silfverberg said of Ottawa's power play unit.

"We play with confidence. We hold onto the puck when we can and we make plays out there, we don't just rim the puck around, we pass it tape-to-tape and that's been a big key."

As to the secret to his explosive shot, which continues to surprise goaltenders, Silfverberg will only say a youth coach told him once to "get a sweet spot, somewhere you know you can always shoot."

On the evidence, that "sweet spot" seems to be high to the glove side of goaltenders that wear the trapper on their left hand.

It may not be long before fans at Scotiabank Place really get the hang of that popular Brynas chant in the SEL last season: "Oh, ah, Silfver-berg, say oh-ah, Silfverberg!"

Story Tools

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.